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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 19, 2011)
October 19, 2011 Fortiani» CObaertiei Page 19 Suicides on the Rise continued fro m page 11 drastically exceed the number of homicides throughout the state, where 670individual’s deaths were a result of suicide, compared to the 91 lives taken from homicide last year. These numbers don’t even begin to include the number of loved ones impacted and the non-fatal attempts by residents, which came to 7,370 in Oregon in 2010, according to the state’s non-violent death report. “The big thing here is preven tion,” said Parker. In the past year, Portland Fire and Rescue has responded to 55 calls of individuals attempting to kill them selves by jumping off Portland’s bridges— a total that is up by 39 calls from the previous year. “I think people need to know there is help out there,” said Colin Mcgladrey, who has worked with Fire and Rescue for eight-years. Nick Weichal, a fellow first re sponder, agreed. Both men are part of the team at Fire Station 21 that responds to the calls when someone chooses to jump from a bridge in Portland. At Waterfront Park last Thursday, they both stood at the site where their team attempted to save the life of the women who drove her car into the river. "It seems like it happens more and more often,” said Weichal. “Not only does it have an impact on fam ily members, but it does on first responders also because we have to deal with it in our own way.” He said, however, by opening Fire Station 21, first responders have been able to increase the number of rescues they have made on the Willamette river. According to Leslie Storm, the director of the Oregon Partnership hotline, the organization received a high increase of calls to the help line last year. She said the increase in calls can be attributed to the number of individuals facing debt and eco nomic hardshi p, which has exasper ated the number of suicides through out the country. “They really feel like they’ve run out of options,” she said. Storm, along with fire and rescue crews, Portland Police officers, and residents who have been impacted by suicides within their personal lives, joined together to send the message of hope and prevention at the waterfront site where the woman took her life. Storm, who talks with individuals everyday about what to do when suicide comes into the picture, named off several warning signs to know when someone might be thinking of taking their own lives. "Please take them seriously,” she urged the crowd. “Ask about it, listen and be patient.” Storm said there are two myths that surround an individual’s at tempts to call out for help that too often cause misconception. One myth, she said, is that people who talk about suicide won’t go through with it. Another is that by talking with someone about suicide, it will give them the idea to kill themselves. She said, however, these beliefs are simply not true. “The stigma. shame, secrecy and myths surround- ing suicide unfortunately keep people from getting the help they need,” she said. According to Oregon Partner ship, the leading causes o f suicide are untreated depression and other untreated mental health disorders. T he c a lls to the O reg o n Partnership’s Suicide Lifeline went from nearly 11,000 in 2008 to over 19,000 in 2010 as the economic re cession took hold. Although there isn’t one deter mining factor to why people feel compelled to take their own lives, Parker said there is a dire need to talk about the underlying mental health issues within the country. “By its very definition, they can’t see other options,” he said. “By talking about it, it is preventable.” For more information about ser vices offered by Oregon Partner ship, visit orpartnership.org or call 503-244-5211. To reach the 24-hour suicide life line, call 800-273-TALK. ‘Our Families’ c o n t i n u e d f r o m page 11 Khalil Edwards and his mother Antionette Edwards are featured in Basic Rights Oregon’s educa tion campaign featuring local African American families. The goal is to spread awareness on the struggles faced by people o f color who are also lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. 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According to Emily S. Ryan, an other member of the Our Families project, the campaign is a collabora tion of perspectives with a single fo cus to highlight community member’s shared experiences. “Not a lot of orga nizations are focusing on these inter secting identities,” she said. “And most are not focusing on educating straight people of color communities.” She hopes the project will help people acknowledge and cherish the depth of an individual’s identity, as well as the intensity of experiences layered in being an LGBTQ person of color when creating policies and ser vices in the future. “The education campaign of Our Families is sharing eye-opening sto ries that have the power behind them to foster lasting change in both the straight people of color community and white LGBTQ community,” she said. o full walk in ¡ Northeast Health Center ' 5329 NE MLR Jr. Blvd. ¡ 2nd Floor i Open: Mon.-Fri. 7:30am til 5:30pm Saturday 9am til 2pm. 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